When the Inmates ran the Asylum; Reviewing the last Debt Ceiling Debacle

This year we’re reaching our debt ceiling again while Congress takes an unnecessary break. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner relayed to Congress Thursday that the Treasury Department will reach the debt ceiling on about Dec. 31. Raising the debt ceiling affords us the means to pay our country’s bills. Republicans are commingling the fiscal cliff negotiations with the debt ceiling. AKA: Help billionaires and millionaires so they don’t have to pay taxes.

During the last fiasco, our country’s credit rating was downgraded for the first time in history due to our inept elected officials, who continuously babbled about partisan wants while leaving our economy dangling over an Apocalyptic cliff. It was embarrassing.

So, if we go by history and even recent occurrences, this is what we can expect. Last year the Tea Party cheered on a government shutdown even though it would affect hard working Americans ; The federal government makes payments to some 80 million individuals, companies and entities every month. Sarah Palin (remember her?) applauded a possible shutdown.

In 2011, John Boehner threw together a proposal which was slammed by all parties, then scrambled to rewrite it, after which it was barely passed by the House of Representatives. The Senate promptly killed it as promised. Boehner’s time spent on the proposal was futile, knowing ahead of time that Harry Reid swore to shoot it down and he delivered on that promise. That happened again this year with Plan B except the House Speaker could not even garner enough support in his own party. It’s as if John Boehner isn’t even trying.

Last year in 2011, President Obama offered a debt ceiling deal with far less revenue than the bipartisan ‘Gang of Six’ — Harry Reid offered up an all-cuts deal that would make any Republican weep tears of joy — but, the Tea Party-led House still said no.

Missing in Action: Tea Partiers who embraced signs reading, ‘Get your gubbermint hands off my Medicare.’ While Tea Partiers obstructed what the President proposed, the problematic areas Obama took issue with were the fundamental changes to Medicare and Medicaid proposed by Republicans and relying in part on tax increases on wealthy Americans. So, the battle began and it continues on this year, with the same chaos.

Conover was Commander of Jade Helm 15 during the failed takeover of the South. She's also one of the biggest arseholes on Twitter. At night, she can be found drinking Conservative tears while pulling off the wings of flies just because she can. She writes for other sites, too. She's an awful person but she doesn't like to brag about that.

Can someone please explain to me the difference between, “We are so vested in HELPING 2% of the population that we are willing to harm 100% of the population if we don’t get our way.” and “We are so vested in PUNISHING 2% of the population that we are willing to harm 100% of the population if we don’t get our way.” ??

webjunky19

Punishing.??? Where do you get the nerve to call it punishing.?? Over the past couple of decades the top 2% have seen their taxes cut by more than 60%, over the past two years the top 2% have received 93% of all new income in this country while the rest of us get to divvy up the remaining 7%.. It is not punishment to acknowledge the tax cuts for the wealthy have gone too far and it’s time for them to start paying their fair share once again… and I wouldn’t raise the rate to just 39.6%, I’d raise it to 50%.

Hank

Where do YOU get the nerve to call it anything else? Just how much of other people’s money, the fruits of other people’s labors do you think you are entitled to??

Ahem. It’s not other people’s money if it’s spent on the roads they drive on and the benefits of America’s resources that are readily afforded them. This is not a game. Your party has run its course. It’s over.

Hank

What you said makes absolutely no sense at all. Again….how much do you think you’re entitled to no matter WHAT you use it for. Do you not think a person is entitled to profit from his own labors? By what you’re saying, it sounds to me like you would be fine with all of us just working and turning over all our money to the “gubbermint” to do with as they please!!

“The whole question of what’s a ‘fair share’ is a liberal’s question. Taxation is not a moral issue, it’s a question of necessity – how much is needed to pay for the roads, the bridges, and to
raise the armies. In an ideal world, the ‘fair share’ of taxation is zero. The Founders had zero income tax, they taxed customs and transactions. They never had a conception of what’s ‘fair.’ But when you ask, as liberals do, what is a fair share, the idea is that government has a
moral claim on your earnings.” Charles Krauthammer

tiredoftea

We don’t live in an ideal world, we live in the real one, the 21st century one, not the 18th century one of the Founders. And, a fair share is a human question, one of having concern for the welfare of this country’s citizens, all of them, from the least to the most rewarded. We all share a common infrastructure, defense, desire a clean environment, good schools, fair markets and safe streets. All that costs money in a large country. Money that has been squeezed from all of us while lowering taxes beyond what the Treasury needs to support the government while enduring the worst recession since the early thirties.

Government helps economic recovery by short term deficit spending and trimming spending after revenue has increased from the increase in collections from a strong economy. Your buddy Krauthammer and all his ilk have no interest in telling the trut because they are greedy, unpatriotic idiots who prefer to incite their followers to advocate against their own economic interests.

Hank

Thank you for a well written comment. However, just because I find something someone stated prudent doesn’t necessarily make him my “buddy”.

Obviously, I disagree with you. When the Government taxes me to maintain security, infrastructure and such, I realize that is a necessity and we ALL (including the other 98%) should contribute. But when they start taking funds I could use to support my family, pay my bills, and better my own lifestyle to pay millions of dollars to fund parties, perks for themselves, etc., then yes. It is immoral.

And I categorically disagree with your statement, “…short term deficit spending and trimming spending after revenue has increased…” Before you go taking more, you should FIRST cut the unnecessary spending.

Uncanny

Morality is no longer defined in the republican dictionary. You’ve ostracized so many people that it cost you an election. We can go over the cliff but taxes will go up. We will take care of the needy either way.

Hank

You are correct. The left has done a remarkable job of defining morality in their own terms. And look at the country…the world you have given us.

Taxation is a moral issue. When we start throwing the elderly and the poor under the bus, THAT is a moral issue. And really, Krauthammer? He’s a nut.

Hank

But then you think ANYONE who doesn’t cower before the leftist onslaught a “nut”. Why not take some of that billions of dollars of waste that has been identified and apply that to helping the elderly and the poor? Why just continue to take more and continue to waste with impunity??

What waste that’s been identified? Need some coffee? I have some New Orleans coffee brewing. I’m willing to share! It’s time to go Icelandic on our politicians and bankstas. We have no room for mistakes. This is the end of the line for our economy.

I am uploading you some coffee asap. Specifics are not your friend today.

Biting Reality

Hank – The last time I checked, the gross profits of the US corporations on Wall Street sky-rocketed due to a few things – out-sourcing jobs, Making low rate, cheap crap using sweatshops in other countries and dumping it on the US market and by cutting American wages and benefits. The US Corporations use airports and roads more than ANY Middle Class and poor citizen but refuse to pay for them . AND then we have the WalMart plan – destroy the ability for the worker to get health care or a living wage so that the US social services PAID for by the American worker who foots the bill. WE pay for the workers forced onto Medicare and Food Stamps by unfair labor practices yet the Walton family rapes the American worker every second of every day and continues their debase practice on the American social system. Excuse me while I have no empathy for the Waltons, Kochs (who adds to it the destruction of village after village and the eco-system across the planet), or the rest of the sleazy corrupt capitalist practitioners. By the by…Sam Walton is spinning in his grave by what his family has done in his name…I knew the man

tiredoftea

Hank, that’s what your rethuglican buddies are doing. They have walked away from keeping the existing rates for every taxpayer the same while restoring the 39.6% (from 35%) marginal rate for the highest income brackets. So, talk with your buddies, they are willing to hold every tax payer hostage to save a few bucks for the very few who have done exceedingly well while the rest have endured stagnant to declining incomes.

Hank

“Rethuglican”? How old are you? 12?

Aside from that, I guess you are essentially saying there really is no difference in the selfishness of the two positions. How can you chastise one side for walking away while exonerating the other side for walking away for virtually the exact same premise?? NEITHER side is right to stake such an intransigent position on such a trivial matter of doing ANYTHING to or for such an insignificant portion of the populace, statistically speaking. You are a blind ideologue if you cannot admit raising (or lowering) taxes on 2% of the population is anything other than an aesthetic “solution”. One where one side can sit back and say, “See there!! We raised taxes on the evil rich!!” (Bearing in mind they are not “lowering” the taxes on anyone. They are just maintaining the same base tax rate.)

My “buddies”, who are neither “Rethuglican” nor “Dumbocrat”, are simply common sense people that understand raising taxes on 2% of the population really does nothing other than slake basest instincts of the rabble.

Hank

Oh…and I forgot to ask. Would you mind citing the (non-photoshopped) sign that read, “Get your gubbermint hands off my Medicare”? I KNOW you would never try to paint some sort of false image!! 😉